Your Google listing and your website have different jobs

Two tools, two jobs

When someone in Sarasota types “pressure washing near me” into Google, the first thing they usually see is a map with a short list of businesses. Those entries come from Google Business Profiles. A profile shows the basics fast: your name, star rating, hours, phone number and a button for directions.

That is the discovery step. It answers “who does this work near me?” What it can’t do well is answer the questions that come next. Do you clean tile roofs or only driveways? Do you come out to Venice? How do you price a job? Will the person who shows up know what they are doing?

Those questions belong on your website. The listing gets you onto the shortlist. The website is where a customer decides whether to call you or the next name down.

What Google says it looks at

Google is unusually direct about local results. Its help page says local ranking is mainly based on three things: relevance (how well your profile matches the search), distance (how far you are from the person searching or the place they named) and prominence (how well known your business is). It also says your review count and review score factor into local ranking.

You can work on relevance and prominence. You can’t do anything about distance. If a customer in Parrish searches for a pool service, a company in Parrish has a head start over one in North Port, and no website changes that.

Google also makes the case for filling out the profile completely. Its help page says customers are 2.7 times more likely to consider a business reputable when they find a complete profile on Search and Maps. That figure comes from Google, which has an obvious interest in you filling out the profile, so read it as a strong suggestion rather than a law of nature. The advice itself costs nothing to follow.

Where the website comes in

Every profile has a spot for a website link. Whatever you put there is the page a customer lands on after they have already shown interest. Treat it like the front door. It should answer, in the first screen on a phone:

• What you do, in the words a customer would use.
• Where you work, by town or neighborhood.
• Proof that you have done this before: real photos, reviews, a license number if you hold one.
• How to reach you, with a phone number that dials when tapped.

A Facebook page can work as a stopgap, but it makes a customer scroll through months of posts to find your service list. If the link goes to a page that loads slowly or makes them hunt for a phone number, the work you put into the listing gets wasted at the last step.

Keep the facts identical

Your business name, phone number, hours and service area should match everywhere: the profile, the website, Facebook, Yelp and your truck. When they disagree, customers lose confidence, and search engines have a harder time deciding which version is right.

Holidays and storms are where this usually breaks. Google lets you set special hours on your profile for a day or a date range. If you close for a holiday or after a storm, change the profile and the website on the same day. A customer who drives over during “open” hours and finds a locked door won’t try twice.

If you don’t have a listing yet

Not every business qualifies. Google’s eligibility rules say a business has to make in-person contact with customers during its stated hours. Businesses that operate only online aren’t eligible. If you drive to customers (most lawn, pool, cleaning and pressure-washing companies do), you can set up a service-area profile and hide your home address. You list the towns you cover instead.

Don’t rent a virtual office or use a mailbox address to get a pin on the map. It breaks Google’s rules and can get the listing suspended. If you aren’t sure whether you qualify, read Google’s eligibility page before you start.

If you don’t have a profile, a website still helps. People who hear your name from a neighbor will search for it, and the website is what they find.

Check the whole trip from a phone

Once a quarter, pretend you are a customer. Use your phone, not your office computer. Search for your business name, then search for your main service plus your town. Open your listing, tap the website link and try to get in touch.

Most problems show up in the first two minutes: a link that goes to an old page, hours that don’t match, a form that never sends. Fix those before you spend time on anything else. If you want a second set of eyes, I’ll go through the same check with you when we talk about a free preview.